A team consisting of dedicated Crescent middle school students excelled in its first season of statewide robotics competition.

 

The Comet Robotics FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team formed to help students develop practical skills while gaining confidence in concepts related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Exceeding expectations for a first-year team, Comet Robotics qualified for the 2024 Michigan FIRST® Tech Challenge State Championships for middle schoolers Dec. 7-8 in Warren, Mich. – finishing a respectable 17th out of 36 teams within their division.

 

“For a rookie team to finish that high is unheard of,” said Pembe Yasarlar, executive director of Crescent. “This was a great representation of the potential our students have. We offer a stellar coding and robotics curriculum both in school via STEAM classes (including art), and through enrichment like this team, with competitions beyond our campus.”

 

As part of the FIRST Tech Challenge, students worked together with various mentors to design and build robots to compete in a dynamic challenge released by FIRST organizers in September. The team programmed classroom-scale, 18-by-18 inch robots to follow autonomous commands before students took control in two-on-two contests. The competitions followed many hours of preparation on game analysis and strategy, robot design, and developing engineering content – all while executing a business plan.

 

“In addition to fostering STEM skills, ingenuity and innovation, the robotics experience helps students engage in community outreach and build confidence and teamwork to help them succeed in the future,” said Ghada Hattab, lead business and marketing manager for the club. “We plan to continue expanding opportunities for students through Crescent Robotics.”

 

The 15-member Crescent Robotics team included eight 8th graders, five 7th graders and two 6th graders. The coaching team consisted of Maryam Saad and Jennifer Hawari. Mentors included Rushda Afzal (design), Jeff Wilson (mechanical), and Imran Raja and Ali Dado (programming). Business mentors included Ghada Hattab, Yasmeen Khafagi and Nancy Musa.